IMMIGRATION, WHAT IS IT?

There is a serious debate going on in this country. That debate is about immigration. In 2006 I wrote a column that was published in the paper and I thought I would revisit it and update it a bit for this blog.

Yes, this nation is indeed a nation of immigrants. There is no doubt about the contributions they have made over the years and there is no doubt about the contributions they will make in the future. So, what is the problem? It’s really quite simple. What’s going on here is not immigration, no, what I am talking about is illegal trespassing.

Consider this. Let’s say you own some property. Let’s say you have fixed up the back yard the way you like it. You have a beautiful garden, fruit trees, and lovely landscaping. For reasons that you choose as a free American property owner, you decide to post the property with no trespassing signs. Then, out of the blue, along comes a family who decides to move into your backyard. They disregard your signs. They pitch a tent and set up house keeping. They decide to go into your garden and pick your vegetables. They climb your fruit trees and pick your fruit. Their children run wild and tear up your beautiful landscaping. It even goes beyond that. One of them gets sick and decides to go to the hospital. You are billed not only for the ride to the hospital, but also the entire bill for the hospital, doctor, and the medicine. Beyond that they expect you to change all the road signs to a foreign language so they won’t be in any way inconvenienced. It goes further. They decide to send their kids to school. For this to be successful you must provide the children an education in a foreign language. Now, to put the frosting on the cake, you can’t get rid of them. Some of your neighbors band together filing frivolous lawsuits, with the help of the ACLU, trying to prevent you from evicting them because they are poor. They are under-privileged and have no other prospects. This could go on and on, but I think you get the picture.

Immigration on the other hand goes something like this. A family from a foreign country wants to become Americans. They go through the proper channels, fill out the necessary paperwork, begin to learn to speak English, and wait their turn. When they arrive, they obey the laws. They get jobs, get educated, join clubs etc. In other words, they assimilate into our society. They become Americans. They do not try to turn this country into the cesspool they just escaped from. They go on to produce as any natural born citizen and contribute the same as anyone else.


Simply put, immigration is good, and illegal trespassing is bad. Is that so difficult to understand? Like you, I have heard all the arguments. My favorite is they take the jobs that natural born citizens will not do. Hogwash. They work cheap and drive down wages for everyone else. Another argument is if we kick out the illegals, avocados will cost five dollars apiece. That’s BS. If I want an avocado, I will pay what it costs or not. If the farmer who raises avocados cannot produce them at a profit, he will produce something else. I am not required to guarantee him a profit by subsidizing his illegal labor force.

The arguments fall on my deaf ears. We cannot continue to accept any and all the poor and downtrodden from all over the world. Depending on whom you believe there are around twenty million illegals living in our country taking American jobs and availing themselves of our resources. That is totally unacceptable. Let’s get control of our borders and keep them under control. We should continue to welcome new Americans to our shores. Legal, mind you, not trespassers who flaunt our system and our laws.

August 6,2011